


History Repeats Itself

by allthingsmagical



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Merlin Has Magic (Merlin), Post Mpreg, goth Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:34:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29153619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthingsmagical/pseuds/allthingsmagical
Summary: When their seventeen year old daughter sneaks out, causing Arthur and Merlin to follow, Merlin finds out history is repeating itself, forcing him to reveal his secret to his husband.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 71





	History Repeats Itself

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I thought of

"I said no!"

A seventeen year old girl looked from her father to her dad. "Daddy?"

"I am with your father on this one. No!"

"You are both so unfair and horrible!" she snapped and stormed upstairs.

"Three..." Arthur said.

"Two..." Merlin sighed.

"One." Arthur finished that was followed by a slamming of the door upstairs.

"We are not horrible are we Arthur?"

Arthur took his husband into his arms. "Of course not love. She doesn't believe it either, she's just saying it to hurt us because we have said no to her going out."

"She can go out, just not to a nightclub, she will only be disappointed as they won't let her in for not being eighteen. It's alright her saying she looks it."

"I know Merlin. Lets give her half an hour to calm down and then we will go and see how she is. It's ever since that lad at college started to take notice of her," Arthur growled. "He better watch himself. He is already eighteen so if I decide to let my fist talk I won't get in trouble as he is no longer underage."

Merlin laughed and wrapped his arms around Arthur. "Your protectiveness has gotten worse as you have gotten older. But I love you more for it."

* * *

Arthur had just finished making a drink when his phone rang. Tapping answer, he put it on speaker phone. "Lance?"

_"Hey Arthur, is Merlin there also?"_

"I'm here Lancelot. What's wrong?"

A sigh came down the phone. _"Okay. Lucy was on the way back from the shops and a taxi passed her."_

Merlin frowned. "Right?"

_"Abigail was in the back of it."_

"No!" Merlin gasped and ran up the stairs two at a time.

"Lancelot was she sure it was Abi?"

_"Yes."_

"Arthur! She's climbed out of the window!" Merlin shouted from upstairs.

"Fuck! Thank you Lancelot, talk later." Arthur said and put his shoes and jacket on just a Merlin came downstairs. "At least we know what club she will be at."

"I'm coming."

"No Merlin. I will go, you stay here for when she comes home."

"No Arthur, our seventeen year old daughter has been lured to a club by an eighteen year old. I am going."

* * *

Merlin was pacing back and forth while Arthur argued with the doorman. 

"What do you mean a dress code? Look I need to get in there, my daughter is in there and only seventeen so while you think you are doing your job by not letting me in because wearing suit and tie is obviously not dressing properly, you have already failed your job by letting someone underage in!"

Merlin sighed and watched as some people walked past Arthur and was let straight inside. Ducking down a side alley, Merlin looked down at himself, his eyes glowing gold as his looks changed. 

He stepped back out and walking past an oblivious Arthur who was still arguing and now threatening to call the police, he went inside.

Merlin took a deep breath once he was inside. He caught his image in a mirror and couldn't help but stare at his reflection, his black hair a bit longer all spiked up like a hand had ran through it. His eyes were dark with make-up, his lips matched, he had a tight black top on. His black combat trousers had silver chains hanging from pockets, his studded spike belt finished it off with his black boots. He couldn't believe he was dressed like this again. He had missed it, dressing like this again, it was like putting on an old comfy pair of slippers.

"Double shot of gin in the orange juice mate please." 

Merlin turned at the voice and saw the lad Stuart that his daughter was hanging around with, slipping gin into her drink. Merlin stood and watched as Stuart paid and walked over to a table where his daughter was sat, her long dark hair down her back, she had used her magic she inherited from Merlin to put purple streaks in her hair, her black top with laced arms and her skirt with chunky black boots that went just over her knee. Never seeing his daughter like this, she must have changed her looks for this Stuart, it worried Merlin that she was more like him than he believed.

He quickly made his way over to his daughter as he saw her pick up the glass but before she could take a drink, his hand enclosed around her wrist.

Abi frowned when a hand closed around her wrist, stopping her from drinking. "Hey!" she snapped as she looked up and gasped when she saw her dad. "Dad? Is that you?"

"There is a reason we say no, there is alcohol in there!" he said and taking the drink with his free hand he slammed it down and pulled his daughter to her feet. "Home. Now!"

"Mr Pendragon-"

Merlin, not letting go of his daughter, glared at Stuart. "Don't you even dare, just be thankful it was me and not her father, otherwise you wouldn't even be conscious right now!" he snapped and walked towards the exit, dragging his daughter with him.

Abi pulled her arm free once out of the club, "this is so unfair daddy! I only had an orange juice!"

"That's what you thought, I saw him order it with a double shot of gin!"

"Stuart wouldn't do that, he cares for me."

"He only cares for one thing! You have to remember, your father and I was not born this age, we were his age once."

"Merlin?"

Merlin turned and saw Arthur hurry over to them both. He cleared his throat. "Arthur, please don't-"

"I had to look very closely a few times and then it was only hearing you speak I knew it was you."

Abi frowned. "Dad why did you looked worried when you saw father?"

Merlin looked at his daughter, "I didn't." he lied. "Now home. We can talk there."

* * *

"Stop it Arthur, please." Merlin said, they had been home for ten minutes, all three of them sat at the table in the kitchen and for the last five minutes, Arthur had not been able to stop staring at his husband. He sighed and looked at his daughter. "Grounded!"

"What? I didn't drink anything!"

"Only because I stopped you and you are grounded because you snuck out when we told you no."

"We don't say no to spoil your fun Abi, we said no to you going out with him as I went to Uni with lads just like him, I knew what kind of person he was within five minutes of meeting him." Arthur said, finally looking away from Merlin. "And changing how you look to get someone to notice you, they are not worth it."

Merlin cleared his throat, "we can't tell her off for that. I changed my looks to get noticed by the one I wanted, but the difference is I knew what he was like and he was nothing like Stuart."

Abi looked from her father who looked confused to her dad. "But you have always said father is the one you have always wanted."

"That is who I changed for baby." Merlin said quietly, not daring to look at Arthur.

Arthur looked shocked at his husband. "What?"

"You changed for father?"

Merlin sighed. "This is really not how I wanted this to go. But yes. How I look now is how I used to look at school. I got bullied by your father."

"What!?" Arthur repeated even louder.

"Father you bullied dad?" 

"What? No! I never bullied your dad and until tonight seeing your dad like this I have never seen him like this."

Merlin looked at Arthur for the first time. "You bullied the lad at Uni who looked like this, wearing glasses, carrying his Dr Who notebook."

"Hang on." Abi said. "You wanted father even though he bullied you but I can't be with Stuart?"

Merlin looked at his daughter. "No because the Arthur at Uni was a show, the Arthur at home was the real Arthur. The Stuart you see at college is a show, the one in the club doing what he did so he can only get one thing, that's the real Stuart. Trust us sweetheart please, we know what we are talking about."

"Clearly father doesn't. He didn't even know you existed except to bully you."

"I thought he just left."

Merlin looked at Arthur to see he had his head down. "What?"

"Before you Merlin, I only picked on one, but they were never hurtful spiteful names, he was a goth, glasses, Dr who notebook, black lipstick, eyebrow pierced. He was gorgeous."

Merlin felt his eyes go wide. "Excuse me?"

Abi smiled. "Pick on the one you secretly like!"

Arthur nodded. "Then one day he just left. A couple of weeks later, your dad starts coming on to me, flirting, I flirt back as I couldn't resist him. Plus your dads voice." Arthur shivered.

Merlin did a deep chuckle. "Still gets you?" he asked, his accent heavier than normal.

"Oh yeah." Arthur said.

Abi laughed. "But you liked dad as goth and then two weeks later you get hit on by dad and you didn't know? How could you not know it was him?"

Arthur took his wallet out. "How your dad looks now, that is how he was at school. Then two weeks after I go on a date with someone who looks like this. This photo was taken on our first date."

Abi looked at the photo of her parents in the photo booth. "I am with father." she said as she looked from her dad in the picture to her dad sat next to her. "It's like a different person. But what about people at school?"

"Only those who knew were teachers, they just thought it was a phase and I grew out of it." Merlin shrugged.

Abi smiled and stood up. "Well, all forgiven and forgotten, I am off to bed." she said and turned to leave the kitchen and only got as far as the door. 

"Still grounded Abigail Pendragon." Arthur said.

Abi turned and looked at her father. "Why? If you think about it, what I did was a good thing, it got you finding out who dad used to be."

"Want us to add a week for cheek?" Merlin asked.

Abi huffed and stormed upstairs.

"Three..." Arthur said.

"Two..." Merlin sighed.

"One." Arthur finished and smiled at Merlin when the door slammed shut upstairs.

Merlin sat looking around the kitchen, very aware that Arthur's eyes were on him, he shifted a little and swallowed before sighing and looking at his husband. "What is the fascination?"

"You Merlin. I just can't believe you were the one, the same one, don't get me wrong I didn't just settle for you when I thought I would never see he old you again, before our first date ended I knew you were the true one for me." Arthur ran a hand through Merlin's hair and with his other hand, traced his finger over the make up covering Merlin's face. "Are you truly comfortable dressing like this again?"

"I am, I didn't think I missed it as much until I made myself look like this to get in the club. It will feel strange going back to my other look."

"Then don't Merlin."

"Really?"

"Really Merlin."

Merlin laughed. "I am not as much as I used to be, I mean I won't wear the make up, maybe just a bit of black under my eyes."

Arthur smiled and moved forwards and pulled his husband into a passionate kiss, only pulling away when air was needed. 

Merlin laughed and using his thumb, wiped the lipstick from Arthur's lips before standing up. "Well you love the goth look Arthur and now your husband is dressed like one, what's your next move?" he asked and laughed as Arthur stood and lifting his arm, bent forwards and lifted Merlin so he was over the blonds shoulder.

"Bed. Standing outside that club full of young ones has made me feel old, I need my husband to help me feel young again." Arthur answered, using his free hand to gently slap Merlin's arse as he carried the laughing brunet up the stairs.

_**The end.** _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Comment or kudos?


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